Baalis was the ruler of Ammon, a longstanding enemy of Judah. After the fall of Jerusalem (586 BC), the Babylonians appointed Gedaliah as governor. Baalis sent Ishmael (a man of royal blood) to assassinate Gedaliah. Despite warnings, Gedaliah refused to believe the plot. Ishmael killed Gedaliah at Mizpah and murdered several Judeans and Babylonian soldiers. Baalis thus provoked Babylonian retaliation against the remaining Judahite population. His name appears only once.
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